Protective garment



June 1970 A. G. TERWILLIGER' 3,514,785

PROTECTIVE GARMENT Filed Feb. 6. 1968 INVE'NTOR. fl/ G.- Terwf/fiyerHGEIVT United States Patent 3,514,786 PROTECTIVE GARMENT Al G.Terwilliger, 44 W. Palmer, Detroit, Mich. 48202 Filed Feb. 6, 1968, Ser.No. 703,288 Int. Cl. F41h 41/02 U.S. Cl. 22.5 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The value of protective garments for both sporting and combatpurposes has long been recognized as evidenced by the wide variety ofsuch garments used over the centuries. The era of the knight with itscrusades and tournaments probably produced the most interesting of suchgarments. From that time until this the search has gone on for garmentsthat provide the optimum amount of protection and yet allow the bodynormal mobility. Each sport and each type of combat situation presenttheir own unique requirements of protection.

It is an object of this invention to provide a protective garment forthe upper torso which allows almost com pletely normal body mobility. Itis another object to provide a protective garment for the upper torsowhich is particularly useful for law enforcement oflicers, nationalguardsmen and reservists during riots, and the like situations, toprotect them from stabbings, thrown objects and the like injuries.However, the vests of this invention should not be confused with the socalled armored vests. It is particularly an object to provide aprotective garment for the upper torso of harness drivers to protectthem in the event of an accident during a race. The vests of thisinvention can also be advantageously worn by jockeys, rodeo riders,automobile racing drivers, and other sportsmen. Other objects,advantages and uses of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing more detailed description of the invention, the examples, andthe claims.

This invention relates to a vest-like garment for the protection of theupper torso, said garment being constructed of two bilaterallysymmetrical halves, said garment having means for joining the halves infront, and means for flexibly joining the halves in back, each of saidhalves being constructed of two layers of fabric having disposed betweensaid layers three selectively contoured parts backed by an elastomericpadding, said parts being made of a material resistant to shattering andto penetration by sharp objects, the first of said parts being contouredso as to extend from a point at about the bottom of the sternum in frontup over the clavicle and down in back to a point at about the bottom ofthe scapula, the second of said parts being essentially rectangular inshape and contoured so as to extend from a point at about the bottom ofthe sternum in front down to about the waistline and from about thebilateral center of the torso in front around the side about two-thirdsof the distance to the spine in back, the third of said parts beingessentially rectangular in shape and contoured so as to extend from apoint at about the bottom of the scapula in back down to a point justbelow the hip and from about the second part to about the spine.

FIG. 1 is a right front view of a preferred embodiment of a garment ofthis invention while FIG. 2 is a back view of the same garment. FIG. 3is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of the garment.

As can be seen from the drawing, the garment 10 is vest-like in shapeand is constructed of bilateral symmetrical halves. The garment isprovided with suitable means 11 for joining the halves in front such asbuttons, snaps, hooks or preferably a zipper. The garment is providedwith suitable means 12 for flexibly joining the halves in back such as astrip of elastic o-r lacing. As shown in the drawing, means 12 consistsof an upper and lower lacing of nylon cord which not only gives thedesired flexibility but also allows for some adjustment of the size ofthe garment. The garment is constructed of two layers of a suitablefabric having disposed between the layers of each half, threeselectively contoured protective parts. An example of a suitable fabricfor construction of the garment is a cotton-polyester blend which hasbeen given a permanent press treatment. The garment is made by placingthe three parts between the layers of fabric and then sewing the layersof fabric together.

While not essential, it has been found advantageous to place one or morerows of stitching, such as at 16, between the parts to assure theirstaying in place.

As can be seen from the fragmentary cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 whichillustrates the construction of the garment, the garment is constructedof two layers of fabric 19 having disposed between said layers a partsuch as 14 having an elastomeric pad backing 20.

Each half of the garment contains three parts contoured to follow thebody lines. These parts can be made of any suitable material which isresistant to shattering and to penetration by sharp objects. Thus, forexample, these parts can be made of metal, glass fabric reinforced epoxyresin or polyester resin laminates, or a suitable plastic such aspolyethylene. The latter material is preferred at this time. If sodesired the plastic, such as parts 14 and 15, can be split atappropriate places either prior to or after it is joined with theelastomeric backing. This is done when more flexibility in the garmentis desired and results in no'loss in protection. While the thickness ofthe plastic can be varied to meet the specific needs of the intendeduse, generally speaking about a As" thickness will suffice for mostsituations. As should be obvious, the parts need not be of uniformthickness throughout but certain portions can be thicker if desirable.It should be noted at this point that in a garment employing partswherein the plasticis of uniform thickness, the shock absorbency can beincreased by raising portions of the plastic. Such raised areas areillustrated in the drawing and designated by the numeral 18 in allplaces.

Each of the above parts is backed with an elastomeric padding. Thispadding. can be a natural or synthetic elastomer and thus, for example,in addition to natural rubber, a polyurethane, polysulfide, polyacrylateor silicone rubber can be employed. The elastomeric padding can be solidor foamed, and generally speaking about a /5" thickness will besatisfactory for most uses to which the garment will be put. Thepreferred elastomer at the present time is a closed cell polyvinylchloride foam. The elastomeric padding must at least cover the back ofthe part and preferably extends beyond the edges of the part from to 1".The elastomer is best attached to the part by means of a suitableadhesive. In addition to making the garment comfortable to wear, theelastomeric backing also gives added protection from inury.

One of the above mentioned parts 13 is contoured so as to extend from apoint at about the bottom of the sternum (breast bone) in front up overthe clavicle (collar bone) and down in back to a point at about thebottom of the scapula (shoulder blade).

The second of the above mentionedparts 14 is essentially rectangular inshape and is contoured so as 3 to extend from a point at about thebottom of the sternum in front down to about the waistline and fromabout the bilateral center of the orso in front around the side abouttwo-thirds of the distance to the spine in back.

The third of the above mentioned parts 15 is also essentiallyrectangular in shape and is contoured so as to extend from a point atabout the bottom of the scapula in back down to a point just below thehip and from about the second part to about the spine.

If so desired, additional protection can be obtained for the shoulderand shoulder joint by attaching a fourth part 17 of elliptical convexshape and backed with an elastomer as the previous parts. Part 17 issewn between two pieces of fabric and then attached to the main garmentby any suitable means such as sewing or grommets and lacing as shown inthe drawing.

The following incident illustrates the utility of the protective garmentof this invention. A harness driver, wearing a protective garment madein accordance with this invention, was driving his three year old fillyin a race when another filly broke in front of him. He was unable tomiss her and had stopped his own filly to avoid hitting her driver whentwo other fillies hit him from behind and fell on top of him. When theyfinally got the two horses off from him he had no feeling, but in a fewminutes feeling returned and he was able to walk off the track. While hehad numerous bruises over his entire body, he suffered no broken bones.The brand new sulky he was driving at the time of the accident wascompletely ruined.

That which is claimed is:

1. A vest-like garment for the protection of the upper torso, saidgarment being constructed of two bilaterally symmetrical halves, saidgarment having means for joining the halves in front, and means forflexibly joining the halves in back, each of said halves beingconstructed of two layers of fabric having disposed between said layersthree selectively contoured parts including an elastomeric pad backingsaid parts, said parts being made of a material resistant to shatteringand to penetration by sharp objects, the first of said parts beingcontoured so as to extend from a point at about the bottom of thesternum in front up over the clavicle and down in back to a point atabout the bottom of the scapula, the second of said parts beingessentially rectangular in shape and contoured so as to extend from apoint at about the bottom of the sternum in front down to about thewaistline and from about the bilateral center of the torso in frontaround the side about two-thirds of the distance to the spine in back,the third of said parts being essentially rectangular in shape andcontoured so as to extend from a point at about the bottom of thescapula in back down to a point just below the hip and from about thesecond part to about the spine.

2. A vest-like garment as defined in claim 1 which also has attached toeach half at the shoulder for the protection thereof, an ellipticalconcave-convex fourth part having an elastomeric pad backing and twolayers of fabric enclosing said fourth part, and stitching securing saidtwo layers of fabric together.

3. A vest-like garment as defined in claim 2 wherein selected portionsof said parts are raised outwardly from the remaining portions.

4. A vest-like garment as defined in claim 3 wherein the second andthird parts are each split forming a plurality of parts to obtainincreased flexibility.

5. A vest-like garment as defined in claim 4 wherein said means forjoining the halves of the garment in front is a zipper, said means forjoining the halves in back is nylon cord lacing, said fabric is acotton-polyester blend, the contoured parts are polyethylene plastic,and the elastomeric backing is polyvinyl chloride foam.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,640,987 6/1953 Ehlers 22.53,061,839 11/ 1962 Foster 22.5 3,162,861 12/1964 Gustafson 22 3,337,8758/ 1967 Blakeney 22.5

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner

